Database Information Management: Organizing Your Information
Keeping organized as you are doing your research is vital for both the comprehensive examination and dissertation. Keeping track of the databases and Web sites you have consulted, the articles you have found, the materials requested from the Interlibrary Loan, and materials from your local libraries will all be important as you work.
Some of the library databases offer tools to help. None will remember everything, so you must use these tools as part of a larger organization scheme.
EBSCOhost databases
(Academic Search Premier, PsycARTICLES, Business Source Premier, etc.): The EBSCOhost databases allow you to "save" information such as citations and search history with a feature called "my EBSCOhost". You can set up this area by clicking on Sign In at the top of the screen (I'm a new user) and setting up a username and password. You can then save searches and articles in this personal storage area.
Note: You must sign in every time you access an EBSCOhost database to save articles and searches. It does not sign you in automatically.
ProQuest databases (ABI/INFROM Global, Psychology Journals, etc.)
ProQuest does not allow you to store information through their site, but they do allow you to briefly capture your searches and results for e-mailing, printing, downloading, or creating a temporary Web page. You can get to the screen with these options by clicking on the My Research tab along the top of the screen. You can review marked documents and the searches that you have conducted. These documents and searches are only retained until you close the browser window.
Reference Management Software (Refworks, Endnote, Reference Manager, etc.)
Many software programs have been created to help organize scholarly citations and material. These are used by students, researchers, scholars and faculty members. This software records the citation information (author, article title, journal title, publisher, etc.) and allows you to add notes and organize the information using "folders" or "libraries". These software programs help you to cite the citations as you include them in your scholarly writing including in-text citations, footnotes and the list of references or bibliography in APA or other citations styles.
Resources
Bibliography Mining and Cited Reference Searching (PDF)
Database Research Log (PDF)
Scholarly Research Log (PDF)
